Spanish Flu and Covid-19

I have seen this meme circulating pretty often online, with many of my friends- people who are good and kind and who want the best for humanity- posting it.

The argument basically is that lockdowns are necessary since the Spanish Flu- which did indeed kill millions around the globe- came in several waves and the second was most deadly. I guess the idea is that if the Lockdowns are maintained, less people will die.

However, this argument has a major flaw.

The Spanish Flu eventually disappeared, yes.
However, it did not disappear because of a vaccine. There was none developed. There wasn’t even a cure developed.

What happened is that hundreds of millions if not billions of people around the world got sick- and 20 million died- before eventually natural immunity was developed. A vaccine didn’t stop it. Neither did a medication. Natural immunity did.

Lockdowns didn’t ensure less people died. They only delayed the inevitable, because people in these regions eventually got the disease anyways from others.

That is also a “lesson of history”, and one that the meme did not point out.

Covid19 is a Coronavirus. The previous 2 deadly ones that circulated among human beings were SARS and MERS. There have been no vaccines or medications developed for them either.

The solution isn’t to follow a Swedish model and do more or less nothing and allow people to just catch it and die. No, I am not advocating this.

The solution in my view is to do what Taiwan and South Korea and Iceland are doing- mass testing, contact tracing, and quarantining of the sick... along with sensible social distancing that takes precautions but isn’t shutting down the entire economy. That is an approach that is clearly working both at keeping people alive, and at making sure they don’t get forced into poverty.

Putting entire nations under lockdowns and shut downs, and robbing hundreds of millions of people around the world of their jobs and the means to make a living for themselves and their families is not only destructive but it is also murderous. People in some parts of the world are already starving to death due to this. In other parts, they are getting evicted from their homes or having to skip meals in order to pay rent. There is a mental health crisis happening and there are suicides as people who can’t handle the pressure are breaking. Not only this, but after the Lockdowns come to an end, millions will have no jobs to go back to. This will only increase poverty and stress, and related deaths.

Canadian and American governments could have chosen to invest in developing mass tests. They chose not to. Instead, they chose to continue building weapons and pipelines. They also told us not to bother wearing face masks. Then, when this thing spread, they more or less shut down large sections of the economy, driving tens of millions of people into joblessness and poverty.
This isnt only happening in Canada and USA, it is also being replicated on a global scale.

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.history.com/.amp/topics/world-war-i/1918-flu-pandemic

https://www.bcm.edu/departments/molecular-virology-and-microbiology/emerging-infections-and-biodefense/sars-virus

Allah SWT and justice – a short reflection

Reading the Quran, one can see many stories of entire nations that were destroyed by Allah SWT. The people of Noah pbuh. The people of Hud pbuh. The people of Lot pbuh. The people of Pharaoh who was opposed by Moses pbuh. Many others.

The destroyed nations all had one thing in common. They all rejected the messengers sent to them, and refused to worship Allah SWT. These messengers came to them, and called them out.

However, in most cases, they did something additional to preaching against the polytheism and lack of gratitude to their Creator that was running rampant in these places. Most of them also denounced the injustices and evils that were taking place in their societies. One thing that the rejectors (the word kafir in the Quran is often translated as “disbeliever” but it refers specifically to people who see the truth of Islam- something that every Prophet and messenger preached- but end up rejecting it anyways) of these nations had in common was arrogance.

When Noah pbuh preached the worship of the Almighty to his people, the notables sneered at him, saying “we see none who follow you, save the lowliest among us” (1). In other words, people whom that society saw as beneath them. Perhaps they were the poor. Perhaps the uneducated. Perhaps the slaves. The Quran doesn’t really clarify, and it isn’t our place to speculate. However, what is known is that among the very few there who followed Noah, it was the despised who did so.

The Ad people whom the prophet Hud pbuh came to, were notorious for their arrogance. They were asked by their prophet “Do you frivolously build on every high place a sign? And do you occupy castles, that haply you may ever abide?”(2) Though they were blessed cattle and children and gardens and springs, they were ungrateful to Allah SWT. They not were frivolous with their wealth, but would “strike as tyrants”(3). So they were not only consumed by pride and materialism, but would also attack other people.

While the people Lot pbuh are known to have been destroyed by Allah SWT to a large part for their same gender sexual intercourse (which, like male-female sexual intercourse outside of marriage, is condemned by Islaam as a sin), that isn’t the only reason they were called out by their prophet. They also would attack travelers and do them serious harm. Lot pbuh said unto them, “Truly you commit indecency such as none in the worlds committed before you. What! Do you come unto men, cut off the way and commit reprehensible deeds in your gatherings?”(4). What these “reprehensible deeds” were is unknown, but rape is implied given that they tried to forcefully commit sexual assault on the angels who came to get Lot pbuh and his family out of the city.

Pharaoh was one of the worst of the worst. In addition to proclaiming himself to be god, he also was perpetrating a policy of mass murder. In addition to enslaving the Israelite people in Egypt, Pharaoh also on at least two occasions (that the Quran tells us about), ordered their infant boys to be slaughtered. When Moses pbuh came to the Pharaoh, he called him out on his cruelty towards his oppressed people. In addition to being a mass murderer and a slaver, Pharaoh also was notoriously cruel towards anyone who disputed his arrogant proclamations of divinity. The sorcerers of his who decided to follow Moses pbuh were ordered to be put to death in a horrifying fashion. “I shall surely cut off your hands and feet on alternate sides, and I shall crucify you all!”(5) Unlike the nations of the previously mentioned prophets, Ancient Egypt was not destroyed but Pharaoh and his advisors and soldiers who went to pursue the Israelites, were.

These prophets- and all others- came with a message of monotheism. They called on the arrogant leaders of their time to turn to God. Even Pharaoh was called to submit, and given a chance at salvation. However, the prophets did not only address the lack of monotheistic belief that they witnessed in their surroundings. They also called out injustices. Slavery. Mass murder. Rape. Aggression. Arrogance. Very few people followed them, but more often than not it was the despised and persecuted and abused who did so.

A huge part of the submission to Allah SWT- something we are required to do if we are to have any chance of salvation- is not only praying and fasting and going on Pilgrimage, which are all extremely important and crucial things- but also just and decent treatment of other human beings. Those who are arrogant and abusive and oppressive towards the weak, are more often than not among those who end up rejecting God.

(1)11:26

(2) 26:128,129

(3) 26:130

(4) 29:28,29

7:125